We started with Poster Boys for Term Limits but then ran into Marcy Kaptur, Maxine Waters, Nancy Pelosi and several other obviously qualified females for term limit posters. "Children" fits because, although they are aged in years, their real-world understanding and selfish narcissism is so childlike. They most certainly are not responsible adults.

Wednesday, March 30, 2011

President Obama's Favorite Republican

Richard Lugar, 78, Republican of Indiana was first elected to the US Senate in 1976. His political career started when he was elected Mayor of Indianapolis in 1968. President Richard Nixon called him his favorite mayor. Lugar no doubt started out in politics with best intentions to serve the people by keeping his oath to them and to the Constitution. But whatever good he did in Congress is long forgotten after 43 years of doing what he considered necessary in getting reelected as each term came to an end. And therein lays the problem.

His early good efforts are now overshadowed by his votes in recent years such as on behalf of the ethanol scam, for instance –see how that worked so well for his fellow Poster Child, Sen. Grassley (R-IA).As you read ask yourself would a Sen. who goes to Washington to serve the people sign on to such expensive, counter-productive scams? This issue is a perfect example of how career pols milk their positions of power. Ethanol is the one product that is not only subsidized by US taxpayers, but mandated that 10% of US gasoline contain it (Lugar has pushed for 15% mandate even though it hurts engines and increases pollution –many green groups oppose its use). Oh, and in case competitive ethanol pops up in the global marketplace, as it has from Brazil, then the career pols put a tariff on it. Brazilian ethanol is made from sugar and actually works cleaner than corn ethanol and costs less than gasoline to produce unlike the corn product. So, Lugar and Grassley and a majority of the Senate voted a 54 cent per gallon tariff to prevent the cheaper, more efficient ethanol from competing with their tax-supported inferior product. To make matters worse, their corn ethanol mandates, subsidies and protection have caused the cost to rise as corn is used to run cars instead of food. The one reason our duly elected representatives force this great inefficiency and expense on the people is to gain contributions and votes from their farmers and others like Archer-Daniels-Midland who reap huge profits from this boondoggle. [Boondoggle: a wasteful or impractical project or activity often involving graft.] Did I mention the 45 cents per gallon tax credit? Big bucks for beneficiaries and politicians; high taxes and debt for current and future taxpayers.

Typical of the career pol, Lugar felt entitled to "his" seat and now after being defeated in the primary, he refuses to endorse or help the Republican candidate. 'It is all about ME' for this RINO.
Close friends with VP Joe Biden and friendly with President Obama, Lugar was named an honorary co-chairman of their inauguration. President Obama calls him his favorite Republican. Photos of Lugar even appeared in campaign ads that helped Obama carry Indiana. Just some of the reasons he is regarded so highly by the Obama administration:
• Lugar declined to sign a brief supporting state lawsuits against President ObamaCare;
• Voted in favor of the Matthew Shepard Act, which expanded the federal hate crime statutes to include sexual orientation and gender identity;
• The first Republican senator to support for President Obama's first Supreme Court nominee, Judge Sonia Sotomayor and also voted in favor of his second Supreme Court nominee Solicitor General Elena Kagan. (Two more liberal judges could not be found –they both follow Obama’s view of the Constitution that it is flawed. Look for more emanations from penumbras from them over time.);
• Supported ratification of the START Treaty (Obama called Lugar to thank him for his help on it);
• Voted for the Dream Act, which was defeated but would have allowed the children of illegal immigrants to gain citizenship if they attend college or join the military.

Yet, he has a mostly pro-life record and recently voted against the “Employee Free Choice Act of 2007” (a/k/a Card Check) to eliminate the secret ballot for union members. Plus he voted for the Federal Marriage Amendment, limiting the definition of marriage to one man and one woman. In October 2010, he voted against repeal of the Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy—which prevents homosexuals from serving openly in the armed forces. Just weeks later, Sen. Joe Lieberman announced that Lugar promised to vote to repeal the policy the next time it comes up for a vote. But then in December, Lugar voted against DADT again. Career pols have to be flexible. This vote came as a surprise to some, including Sen. Lieberman, but not to Indiana conservatives who are actively recruiting a primary challenger for 2012. It is called “pivoting” in the political trade.

When Lugar voted against an earmark ban that was championed by conservatives and tea party activists and even supported by Indiana's other senator, Democrat Evan Bayh, he lost any remaining support he had from that quarter.

These posters are limited by space-- there is a lot more that can be written both from the right and left view of this politician and not all of our examples are given as reasons for term limits. But, it cannot be denied that long-tenured professional politicians are largely responsible for the overgrown federal government and the huge debt we now carry and are putting on the shoulders of future generations. Lugar voted for many of the entitlements that now strangle the economy and, not incidentally, have no authority in the US Constitution. Limiting terms of congress is one reform that will prevent the corruption that invariably follows unlimited tenure. Help Sen. Jim DeMint by going to www.termlimits.org and sign on to support his proposed term limit amendment. Please comment on this article pro or con or to add information --check comments for updates. Thanks.

8 comments:

FreedomWorks endorsed his opponent in the Repub primary, Richard Mourdock, with this: The 79-year-old Lugar has a long history of advocating for bigger government; voting for the Wall Street Bailout (TARP), voting to bailout Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, voting to mandate greenhouse gas emissions, voting for the notorious 2008 stimulus bill, and even voting against banning earmarks!

The Law of the Sea Treaty (LOST) has been signed, and the Obama administration -- with the aid of RINO Sen. Richard Lugar (Ind.) -- will push for its ratification as soon as Lugar's primary in Indiana is over this year. LOST requires that the United States pay an international body half of its royalties from offshore drilling. The body would then distribute the funds as it sees fit to whichever nations it chooses. The United States would only have one vote out of 160 regarding where the money goes. LOST will also oblige us to hand over our offshore drilling technology to any nation that wants it ... for free. -Former Clinton advisor, Dick Morris

The Club for Growth sent this today:Richard Lugar has been a United States Senator from the state of Indiana for thirty-five years.

For thirty-five years Lugar has failed to uphold limited government, low tax, pro-growth principles and has instead voted time and time again in favor of more spending, more taxes, more regulations, and more government.

The best predictor of future behavior is past behavior. And we have thirty-five years of past behavior telling us that the state of Indiana, and our entire nation, can do better than career-politician Lugar. In fact not only can we do better, we must do better.

And that is why the Club's PAC is enthusiastically endorsing Indiana State Treasurer, Richard Murdock, to be the next Republican Senator from the state of Indiana. Mourdock and Lugar will face off in what is sure to be a hard fought primary battle. And with the primary date set for May 8th, this race is already in high gear.

Richard Lugar may claim to be a fiscal conservative but his voting record tells a very different story. Here are some voting highlights from his thirty-five year career: • Yes on the Bush "read my lips" Tax Hike• Yes on Cap and Trade• Yes on the Bridge to Nowhere• Yes to a Minimum Wage Increase• Yes to the Freddie-Fannie Bailout• Yes on TARP• Yes to the Auto Bailout• Yes on the Debt Increase While Lugar clearly doesn't have a solid record on which to run, what he does have is a huge campaign warchest.

From the Mourdock campaign site: "Indianapolis, IN (February 17, 2012) – Indiana Treasurer Richard Mourdock, U.S. Senate Candidate for the 2012 Republican Primary on May 8th, asked for clarification today from six-term incumbent Dick Lugar on why he chooses not to live in Indiana and where exactly he stays when he visits the state."I understand that he still voted from a house he sold in 1977 and stays in hotels or with friends when he has to come to the state. Time to go, Richard Lugar.

From the Mourdock campaign site: "Indianapolis, IN (February 17, 2012) – Indiana Treasurer Richard Mourdock, U.S. Senate Candidate for the 2012 Republican Primary on May 8th, asked for clarification today from six-term incumbent Dick Lugar on why he chooses not to live in Indiana and where exactly he stays when he visits the state."I understand that he still voted from a house he sold in 1977 and stays in hotels or with friends when he has to come to the state. Time to go, Richard Lugar.

Tea party report:We have been telling you about how Sen. Dick Lugar of Indiana has lost touch with everyday Americans and the people that he represents because he is entrenched in Washington DC and would rather hang out with his bureaucratic political friends..Well, it was worse than we even thought! An Indiana Election Board ruled that Sen. Lugar cannot even vote in the state that he claims to represent in the US Senate. .Sen. Lugar was elected into office 35 years ago and hasn't lived in Indiana since! The Board ruled that since he abandon his home over three decades ago and does not live in Indiana, he is not eligible to vote in their elections..

Tea party report:We have been telling you about how Sen. Dick Lugar of Indiana has lost touch with everyday Americans and the people that he represents because he is entrenched in Washington DC and would rather hang out with his bureaucratic political friends..Well, it was worse than we even thought! An Indiana Election Board ruled that Sen. Lugar cannot even vote in the state that he claims to represent in the US Senate. .Sen. Lugar was elected into office 35 years ago and hasn't lived in Indiana since! The Board ruled that since he abandon his home over three decades ago and does not live in Indiana, he is not eligible to vote in their elections..

Why "Poster Children for Term Limits?"

Our Founders gave us the Constitutional Republic unique in all of history in that the basic premise was that we are all created equal, endowed by our Creator with certain unalienable rights and that to secure these rights our government was instituted deriving its just powers from the consent of the governed. A beautiful concept --no more kings or dictators of any kind --the people would rule in freedom. Small government with limited powers, checks and balances and States rights. It worked fairly well as the USA became the freest, richest country in the world.

What happened? The Professional Politician happened!

Virtually all of the problems of the past hundred years have resulted from the career politician pursuing his/her own goals --reelection became Job#1-- forgetting their oaths of office in favor of their own success in office. We are now paying the price as the Obama-Reid-Pelosi regime moved to control banks, unions, businesses, medicine, media, energy, schools and, of course, government at all levels.

My idea for this blog is to show with real-life examples who is doing this to us and how it is being done. Please point out any errors in my facts or thinking so, in the end, we get this right.

Grandfather

Born 1936 in Cleveland, Ohio, I have been an entrepreneur having founded and run several businesses, served on boards of public and private companies and since 1992 and until recently, a financial planner. I've been a life-long conservative political activist. Sandra, my wife of 54 years, and I have made our home near W. Palm Beach, Fla. since 1973. We have two sons; one is currently president of US Term Limits. We are blessed with four beautiful grandchildren. I am a committeeman on the Republican Executive Committee of Palm Beach County and an active member and contributor to the Heritage Foundation, The Club for Growth and US Term Limits, among other great American free market institutions. The title I now hold that motivates me to continue the fight for liberty -–eternal vigilance is, after all, the price of liberty-- is: Grandfather. I want to do what I can to pass on the freedoms I’ve enjoyed to my posterity –and yours.